Spartanburg Methodist will begin the baseball season in early February ranked in the top 10, but the Pioneers will have some big holes to fill if they are to keep that lofty position.

SMC went 45-18 last season, won the Region 10 tournament, the Eastern District championship and made it to the NJCAA World Series. The Pioneers went two and out, but they lost eventual national champion Iowa Western (preseason No. 1) and second-ranked JUCO power San Jacinto of Texas.

Shortstop Bruce Caldwell from Sumter left SMC after one season when he was drafted in the 15th round and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. He batted .444 with 15 home runs, 26 doubles and 66 RBIs.

Among the other losses were center fielder David Donald (.399 with 10 homers), Wil Leathers (.368), Seth Neely (.335), Ben Boykin (.316), Robbie Dodds (.299), Ryne Slack (3.15 ERA) and Boiling Springs product Jonathan Pulley, who led the team innings pitched and had a 4.12 ERA. Pulley was a draft pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Donald with the Houston Astros and Slack signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers.

When the Pioneers report back to school following the holiday break, there will be less than a month until the season opener Feb. 6 at home against Georgia Perimeter.

About This Blog

Todd Shanesy is an award-winning sports writer who has been twice honored nationally by the Associated Press and more than two dozen times by the South Carolina Press Association. He is a native of Troy, Ohio, and studied journalism at Marshall University (1987 graduate). Shanesy is a former sports editor of the Florence (S.C.) Morning News and has been with the Spartanburg Herald-Journal since 1991.

Follow him two ways on Twitter: @ToddShanesySHJ and @TerrierTracker (for everything Wofford-related).